Collision Of Minds
by Crazy bout Remmy
Summary: Lily Evans. James Potter. What can you expect? [Rewrite in progress.]
1. The Flower and The Stag

A/N - Rewritten chapter

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"Oh look everyone! It's Saint Evans, the only one all ready to start studying for the end of the year exams when term only started a week ago. Everyone give her a round of applause!"

Giggles and amused snorts filled the over – populated Gryffindor Common Room, the giggling mostly emitted from 'The Fan Club', as a love redhead had named it.

Lily mentally groaned, and cursed the hated owner of the voice with the very fiber of her being.

'_Drat him. He can't leave me alone in peace, even when I haven't even opened my mouth. Maybe if I ignore him, he'll go away. Fat chance that._'

Lily shut out the nuisance, and burrowed her face further into the book, using its thick covers to hide her displeased face. The last thing she needed was that overgrown bat trying to butt into her business. Care Of Magical Creatures had always been a point of interest for Lily, and she wasn't about to let some nitwit ruin her fun. Soon enough, she was engrossed in the fascinating world of Nifflers.

She peered closely at the fine, smooth flowing minuscule script of the thick, leather bound book, taking care not to bend it; Madam Terry would have her head.

It was times like this that she missed the Muggle World. A magnifying glass would have been welcome; the squinting was earning her a headache. As if she needed it at the moment; she had yet to start her essay.

Nifflers are commonly found in mines, where their insatiable curiousity and obsession with gold can be fulfilled. While a Niffler looks relatively harmless, in fact, often labeled as an adorable creature, with its black, fluffy fur and inquisitive snout, and is quite friendly, despite its ever growing curiosity and its habit of latching itself onto anything that shines, when seriously threatened, it is capable of retracting claws from its –

Lily found the book slipping from her loose clasp, and, taken aback and surprised, against her better judgement, looked up straight into the smirking face of James Potter.

Now, if Lily had belonged to 'The Fan Club', she would have immediately swooned. To be in the close proximity of THE James Potter was a dream many had only fantasized about. But since we have pretty much established the fact that Lily is quite not a normal fan girl, she glared at James Potter. If looks could kill, he would have been an addition to all the smudges on the Gryffindor carpet.

But it wasn't the fact that James Potter wasn't attractive.

Merlin no! Any girl would have been blind not to notice the good looks Potter seemed to practically radiate with. It was just the fact that he had a personality to rival a warthog's. But to the other girls (and a few closeted boys), his Adonis-like appearance was enough to make up for that 'slight' defect.

Messy black hair with highlights of dark brown, the lightly bronze skin tone, due to endless hours of Quidditch, seemed to give him an unnatural glow, one that emphasized on his gorgeously tanned body. His high, aristocratic cheekbones brushed with the faint colour of a dusky rose, giving him the appearance of one who had just been caught red-handed doing something illegal, and yet, had no remorse for it. It was the dream of most of the girls in school to run their hands through his unruly, but no doubt silky, hair, or, to kiss his pouty, pink lips. He had a body to die for. It seemed that the endless hours and toiling away at the Quidditch Field had some use.

But what took most girls' breath away were his dreamy, passion-filled, hazel eyes.

They sparkled with mischief and mystery, and it was said by many a sighing girl, that, if you stared too long or too deep into them, you would most likely drown in them, and even if you did want to be saved, which the girls assured you was very unlikely, you would be lost in them forever. And to top it off, he was just a Fourth Year, which left all the girls in glee, wondering what he would look once he had actually HIT puberty; a stage when one was supposed to mature and look even better than before.

'_No wonder_,' Lily thought, _'that people often listened to Potter more than they listen to me. Who would want to talk to someone who looked like a scarecrow?'_

But Lily gave herself too little credit.

It was because of the fact that she did not care much about what people thought about her looks, preferring to dive into her books, as she realistically knew, that, looks were not going to help pay the bills. Well, unless you were James Potter, but that wasn't the point.

But just because she preferred to go natural, instead of slave away everyday in front of the mirror, didn't mean that she resembled something straight out of a horror movie.

With a petite figure, many overlooked Lily when they first saw her, not because she wasn't anything outstanding, but because she didn't put in any effort to seem anything but a wallflower. Her hair, when left open, was a lovely silk mass of fiery red tickling the small of her back, but seen by the other students of Hogwarts as a prim and proper bun on the top of Evan's head. With pale skin, sprinkled with freckles on her upturned nose, and small, pointy ears, Lily Evans seemed gifted with almost Elven like features.

Too bad those wonderful, rare features seemed to be always scowling at James Potter and his gang.

"James Potter, I swear on Merlin's grave, that if you do not let go of that book, you **will** live to regret it!"

James lifted an eyebrow and twirled the book into the air, and let it fall back into his arms, repeating the motion several times.

"Think you're something big, Evans? I know spells that you can't even **_dream_** of laying your hands on!"

Lily smirked, an uncanny resemblance to Malfoy.

"Do any of the spells include castration?"

James flinched and nearly dropped the book, and his expression bordered on fear for a moment before rearranging itself back into an indifferent smirk.

Lily nearly took a step back but stopped herself in time. She did not want to appear afraid of her arch rival, but that facial pose never bode well for her near future.

"I'm tired of your goody-goody attitude Evans. You think you're so above everyone else, don't you? "Oh, DO try to be more mature." "**I** think…" "I would NEVER do such a thing". God Evans, live a little, will you? Not everyone is as bloody uptight as you are. It's like you're the boss of everyone around here! ""

"Ironical, isn't it? That _you_ of all people are giving me this lecture?"

At that, James visibly snapped.

"SHUT **UP **EVANS!! YOU THINK YOU'RE SO GOD-LIKE? YOU'RE AN UGLY, VILE EXCUSE FOR A HUMAN BEING! NO WONDER YOU'VE NEVER HAD A DATE IN YOUR LIFE! WHO WOULD WANT A BOSSY, OVER-POWERING GIRLFRIEND?!"

James spat in disgust and flung the book towards Lily's feet, ripping half the book in the process. The Common Room sat stunned into silence, before breaking into muted snickers. Everyone agreed that Evans was getting what she had long deserved.

"You treat us no better than a Slytherin who tries to manipulate everyone else in our eyes. The only reason why that House didn't accept you was probably because you were too bossy, even for them!"

Another ripple of laughter. A mass agreement from the rest of the House. James smirked in triumph at Lily, who had had her head bent from the moment he had started yelling at her.

With visibly trembling hands, she bent down and picked up the book, shakily rearranging the pages and picking it up, hugged the book tightly to her shuddering body.

When she lifted her face, the whole room gasped. James involuntarily took a step back.

Evans' usually stony face was trembling and tear-stained, her red – rimmed eyes still leaking tears. But what had caught them was the fact that her face held the expression of utter despair, a heartbroken stricken look that one has when news has arrived of the death of a close family member.

Lily swallowed with difficulty and turned her back to the crowd.

"That's funny, Potter," she whispered, "because in my eyes, you all treat me no better than a Slytherin treat a muggleborn."

And with that, she ran up the stairs into her dormitory.


	2. It's Been Awhile

**A/N** – Hi! I'm pleased with the response for this here story. So here's the second chapter! Either expect the 3rd by December 6th, or the next time it'll be posted would be on...say... January the 2nd? Yeah, cause I'm going overseas for hols...

Other author notes at the bottom! On with the story...oh, but first:

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing, so pls don't sue me! I could only give youa hand full of coins. And my brother, if you want. The lyrics of the song belong to **Staind, **and the song name is **It's Been Awhile**

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_**And its,**_

_**Been awhile,**_

_**Since I could,**_

_**Hold my head up high.**_

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Lily sat on her bed in the dorm, curtains pulled tightly together, leaving her in darkness, wiping away the tears from her eyes with her thumb.

She knew she must have been looking a sight.

She could feel her hair tumbling out of its bun, and her eyes felt dirty and swollen. Her nose was runny, and she was hiccupping slightly.

But she couldn't help it.

What Potter had said had hit a nerve.

She reached out for under her mattress, and pulled out a thick photo album.

It was full of old and funny pictures of her family before she came to Hogwarts, before her parents were –

She stiffened and hurriedly shoved her trail of thought away from that particular area.

It had been more than three years, but it still hurt.

As if sensing her thought, the book tumbled out of her hands, and onto the mattress, flipping open to a page.

When she picked it up, she barely stifled a gasp.

The photograph looked worn and crinkled. It was dog-eared, and had smudges of what looked like chocolate. It was obvious that it had been looked at millions of times.

It was a picture situated in the Scottish hills.

Lily still remembered that day clearly; enough to make it seem as though it had happened just yesterday.

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"_Lily dear, slow down!"_

_A 10-year-old Lily Evans laughed, filling the air with clear, ringing tones as she turned to look back at her mother, who was strolling leisurely down the path._

"_Mother! Faster! I want to see the castle before the close for tea time!"_

_Marie Evans just shook her head in amusement at her exhilarated daughter. The girl sometimes was too active for her own good._

"_Darling, the castle's not going anywhere! Teatime isn't for another hour or so! We have plenty of time. Come! Sit by me."_

_Marie settled down gracefully on the grass, under the shade of the great oak tree, just basking in the cool, refreshing breeze that swept along the hillside._

_Lily flounced up to her mother, and plopped down next to her mother, with as much as grace as a rhino._

_Her mother just smiled._

"_Lily, you know, it won't kill you to be more lady like! Looking after your own looks won't hurt anyone."_

"_Mom!" whined Lily, "No one cares whether I look nice and pretty or not! Manners, I can understand, but looks? Nu-uh, it doesn't float my boat."_

_Marie looked wistfully at Lily, almost as if contemplating the future._

"_I just hope Lily, that when one day someone decides that those wonderful brains of yours aren't enough, I will be there to hold you up and repair the shattered pieces of your broken and bruised heart. I hope I live to see that day."_

"_Mom!"_

_Lily looked sharply at her mother._

_Marie seemed to shake out of her stupor, and smiled softly at her daughter._

"_Just remember that I'll always be there."_

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Lily choked back a sob as she lightly traced the outline of her mother's happy form in the picture.

This had been a mere 5 months before Lily received a letter, and a year before Voldermort decided her parents didn't deserve to live.

She grew aware of her surroundings as a door slammed shut in her dormitory.

"Oh my gosh, did you see?"

"Yeah, I know! I mean, who would have ……"

"All I know is that Evans had a breakdown!"

"Unbelievable!"

"Cor, I thought that girl's heart was made of stone!"

"Who cares?"

"Wasn't James looking hot while fighting?"

"Humph! More than I can say for Evans."

"Oh honestly, has she ever heard of a hairdresser?"

"Just as much as she's heard of the word _fashion_, I suppose!"

"Oh shush, she's right beyond those curtains!"

"Aah, leave it, she probably cried herself to sleep by now."

"Typical."

Lily bit her lip as the other Fourth Year Girls exited the dorms, slamming the doors again.

Tears slowly started to track down her face again.

She flung herself on her pillow and clung to it desperately.

'_Mother, where are you now?'_

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_**And it's,**_

_**Been awhile  
**_

_**Since I **_

_**First saw you**_

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James stared at the girls' staircase leading to the dormitory.

People were talking all around him now; tons of hands jostled his shoulder, vying for his attention.

"Good one Potter!"

"Ooh Jamie! That's showing the know – it – all!"

"Serves her right!"

"Good on you mate, we should have stood up to her earlier."

"JAMES! GO OUT WITH ME!"

"Back off slut! He's mine!"

He let the voices wash over him, a soothing background noise for his troubled mind.

He hadn't meant her to get hurt; cripes, how could he have known that Lily **_Evans_** would get hurt?

But looking back at the words they had spewed over the years, he was surprised that she hadn't broken down earlier.

The only time that James had seen Lily break down was during the Christmas Holidays in First Year, when they had been the only Gryffindors staying back.

Back then, they had been friends. They studied together, joked together and bickered together.

That was before the news of –

James throat tightened.

Though he had never known the Evans', if they were like anything that Lily was, they would have been the perfect family.

Lily never had the mask back then.

She shared secrets, smiled and joked around just as much as everyone did, and everyone seemed to want to be her best friend.

But maybe that had all been an act.

Had he really known her after all?

They had usually talked about him.

Lily had always steered the conversation away from her life. As though it not important where she had grown up. What were her favourite things were.

It had been awhile since James Potter had _really_ seen Lily Evans.

And now he was determined to never let that happen again.

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_**And its,**_

_**Been awhile,**_

_**Since I've said**_

_**Sorry.**_

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**Author Notes**: So? How was it? I'm not writing more until I get a response...Let's set a limit, saaaaaaaaay...hmmmmmm, let's see, you make my review mark reach at LEAST 30/31, and I give you a humoungous chapter and two chapters before I leave on the 6th?

Review ppl!


	3. Dont Underestimate A Muggleborn

_**A/N: **_Aloha my friends! This is going to be the third chapter of CoM!

I'm afraid that today, I leave for my holidays, so this is going to have to do until January 2nd to 3rd!

The song from this chapter is by **Papa Roach**, and its called **Last Resort**. I think this one suits Lily, don't you?

Other A/n at the bottom of the page!

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**Chapter 3 - Don't Underestimate A Muggleborn**

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_**I never realized I was spread too thin**_

_**Till it was too late and I was empty within**_

_**Hungry, feeding on chaos and living in sin**_

_**Downward spiral, where do I begin**_

_**It all started when I lost my mother**_

_**No love for myself and no love for another**_

_**Searching to find a love upon a higher level**_

_**Finding nothing but questions and devils**_

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"And a sharp jab will make it immediately silence ….."

James yawned as Professor Flitwick's voice droned on about the silencing charm.

Ruffling his hair with one hand, he heard the group of girls behind him sigh in unison.

He grinned.

'_Works every time.'_

Sirius was drooling onto the table with his head under his arms on his left side.

Remus sat on his right, diligently taking notes, and occasionally stopping to glare at Sirius while he snored.

Peter sat on Sirius's left, chewing his fingernails, and randomly jotting down anything that sounded hard and important, a puzzled expression on his face.

James's attention wandered as his eyes roamed, and they finally landed on Lily's bent frame at the isolated back of the class.

She was sitting hunched in her chair, with her hair in a scrunchie, biting her lips as she hastily wiped her ink stained hands to avoid smudging her notes.

_'What is it with these people and taking notes? Isn't it the practical that counts?'_

Lily suddenly scrunched up her nose as it looked like she had copied down something wrongly and hissed quietly under her breath.

James, startled by the noise, got rid of his previous detachment, and watched with avid interest.

Lily got up and bent under the table, over her bag to unclasp it.

When she had retrieved a spare piece of parchment, her head hit the underside of the table with a dull thud.

Everyone ignored the sound, and Flitwick continued his lecture.

Grumbling, Lily appeared from underneath the table, one hand clutching the side of her head.

She suddenly stumbled on her shoelace, and crashed headfirst into her table, knocking over her inkbottle.

James stifled a laugh.

Cursing, she siphoned away the ink, only to slip on it and bang her hip on the table.

Glaring, Lily straightened up and kicked the bane of her existence.

"Ms Evans, do you really find it necessary to create such loud noises?"

The class tittered.

Red in face, Lily sank down into her chair resignedly, and plopped her face onto the table.

Right into the ink.

James grinned at the angry splutters and turned towards the front of the class.

Not voluntarily of course, but because Remus was currently scowling at his lack of attention, and was poking him with a really sharp quill.

'_Must be **that** time of the month.' _

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"All right class, settle down, settle down, I have something to announce today."

The buzz in the classroom died down as all attention turned to Professor Durnik, this year's DADA teacher.

Garion Durnik was a renowned retired Auror who had come to teach them at Dumbledore's request.

He was generally a smiling man, who was known, not only for his exceptional dueling skills, but also for his generosity.

"Today, I have decided to give in to your requests, and have arranged for you to participate….in a duel!"

The students let out a cheer.

"Finally!" yelled Sirius over the noise, "I thought he was never going to agree!"

Durnik waited until the class had calmed down again.

"I will firstly call out a name of a person. If your name has been called out, please come out and stand in front of the class. When that has been carried out, I want one of you to volunteer to duel my chosen one."

"Ready? Good. Lily Evans!"

Lily quickly scampered to the front of the class, and nervously fiddled with the lapels of her school robes as she stood next to the Professor.

Being under the scrutiny of dozens of eyes is not very pleasant.

"Well? Who's going to volunteer?"

Silence.

"Come on, don't tell me you're all scared."

"Yeah! For her!" Yelled a voice from the back of the room.

"Excuse me?" Professor Durnik's face was stern.

"Its true Professor," stuttered a girl at the front of the class, "everyone knows that Evans is all words and no actions. She's just so…so….fragile!

"And on top of that, she's a muggleborn, and everyone knows that all muggleborns are weak, and…."

"Miss Eons, that enough!"

The girl stuttered to a stop and the Professor's order, not because of the words, but because of his livid expression.

Lily, on the other hand, looked cool and collected, as opposed to what she was feeling on the inside.

She was hurt, yes, but she was also boiling mad.

She could feel her magic gathering underneath her palms, and her wand began to vibrate.

"Professor! I volunteer!"

The class was shocked out of silence at the cheerful voice.

James Potter jauntily walked down the isle towards the front of class, smirking.

His classmates shouted encouragements at him.

"Good luck James, not that you need it, of course!"

"Go show her!"

"She'll probably cry over a broken nail, it'll be a piece of cake!"

Drawing out his wand, he situated himself opposite Lily, clearly thinking that this was going to be a piece of cake.

"Scared Evans?"

"You wish Potter"

Professor Durnik nodded towards them, and walked towards the edge of the dueling platform, which had been suddenly raised, in case intervention was needed.

The opponents bowed.

"Begin in one, two, THREE!"

Lily dodged out of the way from the 'Expelliarmus' she knew was coming.

Quickly firing one of her own disarming charms, she moved as far as she could from James, knowing that he would have difficulty hexing over a long range.

James shot a stunning spell at her, which she quickly dispersed with a shield charm.

Running towards Lily, James fired off a variety of different spells, which Lily countered with combinations of spells to provide a more magical aptitude.

It continued in that way, as Lily steadily gained more power, and James got more and more frustrated.

At last, James, tired of fooling around, shouted, "FURNUCULUS!"

Lily, at that very same instance, screamed out a "STUPEFY!"

When both spells collided, a massive 'BOOM!' rocked the class, and James got thrown towards Lily as a crater appeared from the impact of the power thrown into the spells.

Forgetting for a minute that Lily was a girl, James decided to take advantage of the situation, and proceeded to beat the living crap out of Lily.

Which was of course a mistake, as redheads are well known for their tempers.

Lily began to see red.

How dare this imbecile, this buffoon, touch her!

He actually had the guts to punch a girl!

Her power began to build up as she experienced flashbacks of James.

Him taunting her.

Sneering at her for her dreadful Transfiguration grade.

Him laughing at her flying.

Him embarrassing her in front of the other students.

Slowly, the ground around them started to rock at a dreadful pace.

James stopped punching, and looked around, and lastly looked down at Lily.

His eyes widened at the realization of whom he was beating, and who was the cause of this disturbance.

Just as he opened his mouth, Lily's power reached its breaking point.

With a golden beam, James got flung back at a frightening speed into the nearest wall, as showers of dust fell around the class.

When it cleared, students were treated to the sight of the crumpled figure of James Potter underneath the hole in the wall he created when he smashed into it.

A distance away, lay the unconscious body of Lily Evans, who had just displayed the most amazing amount of raw power Hogwarts had seen since the departure of Tom Riddle.

Slowly, the silence was broken as someone started to clap.

Students turned around in there seats to face a now smirking Professor Durnik.

"What were you saying about weak muggleborns Miss Eons?"

At least she had the decency to blush.

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**A/N:** I hope I didn't disappoint you all!

I'd love to hear from you, my email can be found at my userpage.

I won't update until the review mark hits atleast 65, so review!


	4. The Hospital Wing, the Lake and Bimbos

**Disclaimer:** See first chapter

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**Chapter 4 -The Hospital Wing, the Lake and the Bimbos**

James stirred as he awoke from his slumber.

Blinking to clear away the grogginess, he yawned widely, and then winced as his jaw ached from the impact.

"Think he's awake yet?"

A blur blob appeared at the corner of James's vision.

"Well, _obviously_! Honestly, for someone who is supposedly smart, you sure are stupid. Guess the rumours about you having only the looks were true," rambled another blob, which had popped up.

"Shut up. Hey look! He's blinking! Wonder why he's squinting?"

"Honestly! Hand him his glasses!"

Blob No.2 appeared to be rolling his eyes at Blob No.1 again.

A pair of glasses suddenly loomed into view, and as they settled on James's nose, the blobs cleared to form the grinning figures of Sirius and Remus.

"Hey mate, Wormtail's sorry he isn't here, but McGonagall held him back for not finishing his assignment."

James grunted noncommittally.

Remus sighed. "James, I know your overlarge ego has been hurt rather badly, but you **did** provoke Lily. Everyone snaps at some point, you know. You just pushed Lily too far this time. It would have been only a matter of time before she pushed back."

Feeling rather miffed and betrayed, James glared at the werewolf.

"Oh yeah? Why are you defending her anyway? If you love her so much, go away and marry her!"

Sirius stifled a laugh as Remus rolled his eyes at James's comment.

"Very mature Prongs, I can see why the ladies fall over themselves for you."

Sirius made a choking sound and muffled his face with his cloak.

"Go away! Leave me alone. Don't you have books to snog? Teachers to take on dates?"

Sirius appeared to be hyperventilating in his robes.

"Honestly Prongs, you hurt the girl, you insult her, you provoke, and now you get beaten up by her. Seems pretty fair, don't you think?"

"He has a point you know," said a seemingly sedated Sirius, who had finally surfaced for air. "A penny for a penny they say."

"Who says?" asked a suspicious Remus.

"Your face."

"I am wounded. Your retort was caustic. I am dying, asthewerewolfwould die from silver."

James groaned. The currently bickering pair's argument was giving him a major headache.

Plus the fact that his back was starting to hurt from being stuck in one position for too time.

"Uh guys? Help me out here? My back's starting to hurt. Could you shift me someplace more comfy?"

"Oh! That reminds me! I can't believe I forgot to ask. How inconsiderate of me. When are you being discharged? Did Madame Pomphrey say how much more treatment you needed?How's your back?How does it feel like being in a full body cast?"

Sirius burst out into hysterical laughter again as James flushed.

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Lily hummed as she skipped rocks on the surface of the Lake.

Hair braided and swaying in the wind, and glasses left in the Tower, she looked more alive than she had in weeks. With no one around, all the rest of them being in classes, she had no need to keep up with appearances.

Having a lot to think about in the previous days, as the teachers had given her the week off because of her magical energy drain, she realised a few things about her feud with Potter.

While seemingly pointless, it was the only thing that kept her alive.

His comments and actions made her fury rise to devastating heights, but if he didn't provoke her, she would have been just a shell.

Empty, emotionless; a robot programmed to carry out the day's duties.

So in a terrifying way, James Potter, arch nemesis, was being the typical Gryffindor knight, and she was the damsel weeping by the window in distress.

She broke out of her musings as heavy footsteps sounded behind her.

Whirling around, she sighed in relief as she spotted Remus Lupin making his way towards her.

Being magically inept at the moment, she had no means to protect herself other than her fast thinking skills, and her surroundings.

She lightly smiled as Remus jumped over a branch to join her.

Out of all of the Gryffindors, he was the one that she got along with the most.

Understanding her need to prove herself in the magical world, he would often help her with her research in homework, and they felt free to voice their opinions to each other on topics other students would have found droll.

"Lily."

"Remus."

But Lily didn't let him get close. He was just an acquaintance. Nothing more nothing less, and he knew it.

They stood in companiable silence, watching the Squid rise and dip into the water.

Besides, like anyone would have _**wanted **_to be friends with her. She was destined to be alone for life.

"Professor McGonagall's asking for you." Said Remus, breaking her train of thought.

"What for?"

"I don't know. She didn't say. She just asked, that if you were free, to come and see her."

Lily frowned. She had never been in trouble before, so she wasn't sure what McGonagall wanted.

"Alright, lead the way."

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"Ms Evans, I'm happy that you could come." Professor McGonagall held the door to her office open and ushered Lily in.

"Thank you Mr. Lupin, you may go now. Do not forget to remind Mr. Pettigrew that he needs to hand in his homework tomorrow, complete preferably."

As she closed the door, she turned to Lily.

"Well, Ms Evans, I am in a bit of a predicament at the moment. You see, we have had a student transfer her from the Salem Witches Institute, and needed someone trustworthy to guide her through her first days. Naturally, I picked you. Would it be alright?"

Lily flushed at the praise that the Professor had thrown towards her. Before she could process it, she found herself nodding her head in acceptance.

"Excellent. I knew I could count on you. I would have asked the other ladies, but - "

A grimace graced the Professor's face.

Lily swallowed a giggle with difficulty. An apologetic look graced McGonagall's face.

But as she opened her mouth, a knock on the door interrupted her.

"That must be her right now. Come in!"

A delicate, plump girl with a round forgetful face edged her way into the room, and turned to Lily with a shy smile.

"Ms. Lily Evans, I'd like you tosay hello to Ms. Alice Shardon."

Lily grasped the girl's hand and smiled.

Maybe she wouldn't have to be lonely anymore after all.

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Lily spent the rest of the day acquainting Alice with Hogwarts.

From the Lake, to the Greenhouses, to the classrooms, to the hidden stairways, Alice became familiar with every nook and cranny of the old, creaking castle.

But all good things must eventually come to an end.

When they were leisurely strolling down the corridors, they ran into the rest of the Gryffindor Fourth Year Girls.

Tamara Jelcic, Linda Jole and Rachael Richards, the little gang who looked upon Lily as though she was the bane of their existence.

All this was spewed from the result of a fight in First Year.

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_**Flashback**_

"_EVANS! STOP OGLING MY BOYFRIEND!"_

_Lily sat up astonished as Tamara stomped through the Portrait Hole._

"_Excuse me?"_

"_You heard me! Pablo said like, he totally was like cool with me, but he couldn't take the fact that you were always staring at him. I mean, what's your problem?"_

"_Problem? I see no problem. You're obviously so shallow you believe the lies that that lowlife was spouting. He's just trying to get back at me because I ratted him out to a teacher. I mean, come on! Me? Ogle at boys?"_

_Lily was sick and tired of Pablo Zabini, resident hottie, always putting her down. A true Slytherin to the core, he must have just found a way to break up with Tamara, while placing the blame on someone he absolutely hated._

_Lily thought that it would be kind to point that out to Tamara. The latter obviously didn't think so. _

_"Oh honestly, he was just using you to get to your older sister anyway._

_Tamara flared up._

"_Excuse me? Are you saying that I'm like, not good enough for him? That I'm just some poor substitute? I'm tired of your know-it-all attitude. From this moment onwards, we are **through** being friends Lily Evans."_

_And as Tamara stalked away, Lily got a sinking feeling that she was going to live to regret this._

_She didn't mind that they weren't friends anymore, but there was the fact that Tamara had connections everywhere._

_**End Flashback**_

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And regret it she did.

All blonde, preppy and gorgeous,Tamara and her clonesruled the lower year girls with blackmail and threats, and yet, continued to be the most sought after girls in the school, right alongside the older years.

Spreading lies about Lily, they had practically destroyed any form of social life that Lily had.

Anyone seen with Lily would have scandalous rumours popping up about him or her within the week.

When she couldn't take it anymore, Lily closed herself off from everyone around her.

"Where are **you** going Evans?"

Lily stiffened and glowered at them.

"Oh! She was just showing me around!" piped up Alice from behind Lily.

The girls were immediately taken in with Alice's wide forget-me-not blue eyes, and strawberry blonde hair. Plus the fact that she was wearing designer shoes, they practically pounced on her.

From the minute they heard Alice's name, and it tured out that the Shardons were one of the most popular and ancient pureblood lines in the Wizarding World, the trio started practically groveling at her feet. Clasping her hands from both sides, Alice got dragged across the courtyard as the rest chattered nineteen to a dozen in her ears.

Quietly, Lily slipped away, and continued her walk across the courtyard.

She smiled ruefully and shook her head. She knew that it had been too good to be true.

As though anyone would have wanted to be friends with plain, old Lily Evans.

Even kind, sweet Alice had floated off with the other girls once she realised that they were more interesting than Lily.

"Lily! LILY! Wait up!"

Amazed, Lily turned back to see Alice puffing as she jogged to catch up with Lily's fast pace.

"I say! Why didja go and leave me with the Airhead Trio? Did I something honestly terrible to you?" Alice's eyes danced with laughter. "If you wanted to get rid of me so bad, you could have just told me!"

Lily couldn't help it. She giggled.

Sometimes, she reflected, as Alice linked arms with her and they ran across towards the lake to evade the bimbos, life makes up for the bad things handed to you with a ray of sunshine.

**TBC...**

* * *

**Next up in CoM...**

James talks to Lily

Alice meets Frank

And oh la la, a prank?

* * *

**A/N:** Ok, that has been a long time since I've last updated. BUT IT WAS MY BIRTHDAY ON THE 26TH! So I promised myself that I was going to update soon. I'm not happy with this chapter at all, as it seems very shallow to me. So, I'm working twice as hard on the next one. By the way, I have to say... **OH MY GOODNESS! 110 REVIEWS!** I asked for 60, and I got 110! I nearly passed out from shock! So, yeah, thanks for being wonderful reviwers. Over and out.

**Crazy bout Remmy**

P.s. To the person who sent me an email an anyone else who is interested, I'd be happy to take you up on the offer on fanart. My email can be found in my profile.


	5. The New Friend

A/N - Right, first thing you should know is that I'm not going to be updating this story regulary. I've lost most of my interest in it, and the only reason I DO update it is because of the people who are waiting on Author Alert for me. So if they're gone, I'm gone too. The reason for this is, I've got a new story, A Splitsecond Decision, which is WAY more longer, and has captured my interest more firmly than this story ever has. I'm sorry, if this has disappointed you, but I'll never give this story up, I'll continue to update it, but sparodically.

Secondly, I've been changing a few things in each chapter, nothing major, but few different actions and all, and I've just reloaded Chapter 1. Go check it out.

Onward.

* * *

A week later, Lily was back on track, with Alice right beside her. The rest of the students generally avoided her, the news of Lily Evans having knocked the Gryffindor God James Potter senseless having spread like wildfire and this suited Lily just fine.

The last thing she needed at the moment was people gawking at her in disbelief, as if she had some sort of scar on her forehead that set her apart from everyone else.

Besides, she already had Alice, and Lily was already wondering after a week of her company, how she had managed to survive all these years alone.

Alice had naturally brought the sunlight with her wherever she went, and you could not help but smile back when she beamed at you.

Full of witty remarks, and an ability to run a side commentary on anything, Lily felt like Alice was God's own way of apologizing to Lily for years of suffering.

But right now, it was Lily's ears that were suffering the most.

"And that's Timothy Graham, his parents invited mine to the Annual Moon dance Festival at their manor, it was awesome, they had moonbeams instead of lamps everywhere, and they had **_sprites_** as waiters! Can you believe that?"

"Oh! Look! There's Gabriel Chang! Her coming out ball was simply spectacular! If I had my mother throw me one like that, I would never have to worry about marriage proposals!"

"Oh my gosh, is that Amanda Zeomon? Look at that _**awful** _thing she's wearing, something the cat dragged in-"

Lily nodded continuously with a bemused smile. She was fast becoming accustomed with Alice's gibbering ways. Her voice just lulled in the background, and Lily would eventually rise out of a stupor to add her own comments if the subject was interesting enough.

Both girls were walking across the courtyard, with bags slung across their backs, and dodging around harried students who rushed about in an effort to get to their classes.

Alice, disagreeing with a point Lily had just made, was so caught up in gesturing forcefully in the air that she, not watching where she was going, ended up crashing into someone.

Books, notes, quills and swear words flew, and two people ended up on the ground with everything strewn about them; one a female, nursing her head and swearing in quite colourful language, and the other a lanky, kind faced boy, shaking his head and muttering about his 'godforsaken clumsiness'.

Alice, quite angry at being shoved down and getting her designer shoes dirty, looked straight at the unfortunate boy, while he, intent on making amends, looked up at the same time.

It was, Lily mussed, like watching one of those sappy, romantic stories that her mother had loved watching, where the two stars were so mesmerised by one another, they were completely unaware of their surroundings.

Highly entertaining.

Her mother had been disappointed when Lily hadn't grabbed a tissue like she had, but instead exploded into peals of laughter.

The boy shakily cleared his throat and rubbed the back of his neck.

Alice giggled nervously.

Lily rolled her eyes.

"I-I-I'm F-f-rank. F-frank L-Longbottom. You must be around n-new here."

Alice smiled weakly and said, "Alice. Alice Longbo – I meant, Shardon."

Lily stifled a laugh.

Frank smoothed down his hair.

"T-terribly sorry for the accident. Its just that McGonagall had piled so much on us, and Slughorn insisted I finish the five essays that I hadn't passed up before, because I was stuck in the hospital wing with a broken ankle, and I think Madame George has gotten enough of me, she says she's going to make me my own private room, and so, I was in a hurry and I am terribly sorry for banging into you!"

Alice dazedly nodded.

Lily had a feeling that Frank could have declared that he was the King of Timbuktu, or that he liked eating cockroaches and Alice would have still nodded at him with that lovesick expression on her face.

Frank, feeling relived that she hadn't begun throwing things at him or cursing him out of existence, finally gave Alice a relaxed grin.

"I suppose you're a Fourth Year too then? How about I show around the secret passages? They are bound to be interesting!"

Alice beamed at him and feverently nodded her head.

"How exciting! I've never heard of these secret passages! Do they require a password? Or is there some sort of action you have to do?"

Lily raised an eyebrow. Just yesterday afternoon, she had shown Alice all the passageways, including the ones leading to Hogsmeade.

Alice, finally remembering that Lily was still standing there, turned to Lily with hopeful eyes.

"You don't mind, do you Lily?"

Shaking her head, Lily waved Alice off and walked towards the Lake.

Aah, young love.

On the other side of the courtyard, a boy with hazel eyes watched Lily's departure, and determined to make amends, excused himself from his friends and jogged after her.

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James Potter rounded a corner, and then slowed down his pace to a swagger, as he made his way towards the Lake, where he had seen Evans head towards.

Being stuck in the Hospital Wing in a full body cast didn't leave much to do, so James spent his time thinking about what had gone on for the past few weeks.

School had just barely started, and he and Evans had already ripped each other up, though she had a one-up on him… not that he was keeping score or anything.

It was a kind of twisted routine, one that had been going on for the past three years, and it didn't look like either of them was going to stop anytime soon.

But it hadn't always been like this. Once upon a time, he and Evans had actually been close.

In First Year, James had been the one who had shown Lily across the barrier.

A small smile appeared on James Potter's face as he remembered the first time he had seen Lily Evans.

* * *

**Flashback**

A petite, eleven year old Lily Evans bit her lip as she surveyed the chaos going around her at King Cross Station. It would be practically impossible for her to reach to Platform Nine and Three-Quarters, if she could even find it in the first place.

Clutching the trolley, she pushed with all her might, and looked back mournfully at the cars parked nearby, wishing that her parents didn't have to rush off to work, so that they could have helped her.

Passer-bys gave the redheaded girl curious glances before hurrying on their way. It wasn't everyday that you saw a pale child with brilliant green eyes carrying around an owl and a trunk.

Just as Lily was about to give up all hope, she rammed her trolley into someone else's.

As her owl cage fell down, and Eleanor began shrieking inside, Lily bit back tears at the hopelessness of the situation, and bent down to pick up the cage and soothe her indignant owl.

"Oh, terribly sorry there Miss, I didn't see where I was going. I was just too excited you know? New school and all, been waiting for an invitation to there for practically ages!!"

Lily looked puzzled. Were all the boys she had known just uncouth, or was this one just marvelously polished?

To her delight, the messy haired boy in front of her was pushing a trolley with a trunk and an owl on top too.

"Oh!", squealed Lily, "Are you off to Hogwarts too?"

The boy hurriedly shushed her, looking around warily.

"Careful 'bout that. We can't let the Muggles know about this, or there'd be Hell to pay from the Ministry. And Dad would kill me 'specially! Imagine, son of the Advisor, expelled before he set foot in school!"

Lily's eyes widened. Naturally, she had picked up a few (hundred) books to provide her with knowledge of the Wizarding World, and one that had interested her immensely were the one about politics. '_Soaring with the Elite_' it was called, and filled with EVERY detail about the current 'Royals'.

"You must be James Potter! I've read ALL about you, well, about your father. Is it true that you're descendents of Gryffindor?"

"No time for that now! The train leaves in 10 minutes!! Here's what you have to do to get through to Platform 9 and ¾."

As he nudged Lily in the right direction, she amusedly noted that his tone had been nonchalant, but he had blushed a bright red.

Maybe the Potters weren't as arrogant as the books had printed them after all.

**End Flashback

* * *

**

And they had actually hit off right then. Everything had seemed to be just fine, their year runningn by smoothly. They were all what they were supposed to be; young children relishing in the sweet delight of not having adult responsibilities.

And then, Voldermort struck.

James shook his head slowly. It would not do in this times to think of more depressing incidents, they all needed the cheer that they could gather.

He rounded another corner, stepping out of the way and politely nodding at two passing Fifth Year Ravenclaws, and stepped out to the Hogwarts Grounds, breathing in deeply, as a gust of fresh, cold air brushed across his face.

Spotting the long, swaying red hair some distance from him, James took determined strides in that direction, not noticing the cool, gray calculating eyes following his progress.

* * *


End file.
